Effect of prepuberal castration on porcine bulbospongiosus muscle

The histochemical profile and ultrastructural properties of the bulbospongiosus muscle (BSM) fibers from 5-6 month old boars and barrows (castrated at 7 days of age), and intact week old piglets were compared. Based on myosin ATPase, preincubated at pH 4.2, BSM of boars contained predominately intermediately staining fibers, whereas BSM of barrows and piglets had a mixture of staining intensities. Fibers from boar BSM stained intensely for SDH, with subsarcolemmal and diffuse location of reaction product. Staining intensity for SDH was variable in BSM from barrows and piglets, with diffuse location of reaction product. The BSM of boars and barrows contained predominately dark fibers when stained for glycogen and phosphorylase, and the fibers were low in stored lipids. While the fibers were smaller in barrow as compared to boar BSM, ultrastructural differences between boar and barrow BSM were not detectable.